Digital Nomad Pros and Cons

I've been a digital nomad now for over two months and it's been pretty much everything I ever dreamed about. I have so much freedom to be creative in whatever format that works best for me and my life. As someone who adores flexibility, freedom, independence, and comfort, I have been able to spend the past two months figuring out what works best for me and also what doesn't work. Even with your dream job there comes pros and cons. In my case, thankfully there are way more pros than cons, but when wondering if this lifestyle path is for you, it's good to take some things into consideration.

Pros

I can cook my own meals rather than spending money out for lunch and coffee.

Money saving comes in a lot of forms including not have to purchase subway passes and transportation as often since I don't go into an office every day.

Multitasking is much easier when I can do things on my own terms.

I have actually had time now to finish TV shows I always wanted to see because I can have them on in the background as I do my work.

I have no set hours, which means if I so choose, I can work a lot on weekends or evenings so there's less stuff to do on other days.

When you have no office, it means I can go anywhere I want, whenever I want. This means a lot of working from home, a coffee shop, or even on a moving vehicle.

There's freedom to take on other projects that I would feel too overwhelmed to do if I had a stressful job that required me to be in a draining environment.

I can blast music for a mid-day dance break if I want (which happens a lot).

Trip planning is incredibly easy because I don't have to ask permission to take time off because I can work from the location I travel to.

No one judges me if I have my fourth cup of coffee for the day because I just brew them on my Keurig and live my best life.

Skype meetings mean I can talk with my team while wearing a bra and underwear and look like a monster because I just woke up and NO ONE will see me.

Cons

People think just because you're working from home means that you're not really working, don't have an actual work schedule, and can just leave whenever.

Distractions, like watching too much Hulu or adorable significant others, can make paying attention hard at times.

If you travel, you have to adjust your hours for whatever time zone you go to which means having to do a lot of clock math or worrying about having to wake up early or do work at night as appropriate.

Your trips usually have to be longer so you can have a better balance of work and sightseeing because you don't get actual "vacations."

Sometimes it feels like you have more freedom than you know what to do with, which can be overwhelming at times (I know, first world problems...).

Paychecks are not what they seem because you have to take out your own taxes, which is THE WORST (goodbye 30% of my money).

When you're a freelancer you don't get health insurance unless you purchase it yourself, so that means I am currently uninsured and will likely go into debt if I don't get covered and something terrible happens.

Sadly, my boyfriend doesn't also work remotely, which means if I want to go on long-term trips he can't come with me and I have to think about how it will affect our relationship if I'm away for awhile.

This also means I have to still pay my expensive New York City apartment rent check while I'm gone because we share a tiny one-bedroom and I can't sublet it while I'm away because he's still there (a.k.a., I have to pay for accommodation in two places at once, which majorly hurts my wallet).

Sometimes you just want to get out of the house, but many cafes are crazy loud and full of expensive and tempting treats.

And worst of all, it can get kind of lonely and make you feel like a hermit if you don't have to go anywhere for days on end.